Media Highlights
May 2008
This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community have garnered during the month of May 2008.
National and international
The New York Times, in a lengthy feature about urban farming, quoted Patricia Allen of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and apprentice Karen Washington. Citing the growing popularity of urban farms, the Times described UCSC's six-month apprenticeship in ecological farming and gardening as the place to go for extensive training. . . . A New York Times story about walruses featured marine biologists Ron Schusterman and Colleen Reichmuth, who have been studying walrus cognitive abilities and vocal talents. . . . Head of Special Collections Christine Bunting was quoted in a Rolling Stone magazine article about the Grateful Dead's donation of their archives to UCSC (see UCSC story). . . . Astronomer Douglas Lin wrote the cover story in the May issue of Scientific American on how planets form. . . . Business journals across the country picked up on a national study by economist Rob Fairlie that documented a decline in entrepreneurial activity by women. Stories appeared in papers in Atlanta, San Jose, Baltimore, Birmingham, Buffalo, Dayton, Sacramento, Wichita, and Boise, among other cities. And the Houston Business Journal and the Charlotte Business Journal picked up Fairlie's latest report on entrepreneurial activity (see UCSC story). . . . Physicist Terry Schalk was quoted in a New York Times story about the Maker Faire in San Mateo, and Schalk's tesla coil exhibit at the faire was the focus of a related story on the Times web site. . . . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviewed psychology's Eileen Zurbriggen for a story about the sexualization of young girls. Zurbriggen chaired an American Psychological Association task force that investigated the subject and released a major report last year. . . . Research on long-term data storage led by computer scientists Ethan Miller, Mark Storer, and Kevin Greenan was covered by the Register (U.K.), U.P.I., Science Daily, Scenta, and SearchStorage.com (see UCSC story). . . . Doctoral candidate Paul Viotti's research on wealth inequality was highlighted in Too Much, a weekly online publication produced by the Council on International and Public Affairs (see UCSC story). . . . During a recent conference, a reporter with Science magazine picked up on unpublished research on the evolution of gliding that was being discussed by anthropologist Nate Dominy. The reporter's write-up noted that the tropical rain forests of southeast Asia are home to more than 45 species of tree frogs, lizards, geckos, and other animals that can glide, including snakes that can glide more than 100 meters. . . . Research by sociologist Hiroshi Fukurai figured prominently in a recent trend story in the National Law Journal about the use of juries in jurisprudence around the world, including notably South Korea, China, and Russia. . . . Research on the stability of the solar system by astronomer Gregory Laughlin and physics undergraduate Konstantin Batygin was covered by Sky & Telescope and New Scientist magazines. . . . Professor of literature Tyrus Miller was cited in the May 2008 issue of Art in America for his collaborative work with San Francisco-based artist Darren Waterston. . . . A story about research on the Tibetan plateau by geologist Xixi Zhao appeared as the "image of the day" feature on Live Science (see UCSC story). . . . Astronomer Garth Illingworth was quoted in a Space Daily story about compact galaxies in the early universe. . . . Social psychologist Elliot Aronson's new book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) (see UCSC story) was featured in the Canadian weekly newsmagazine Maclean's. . . . Research by chemist Jin Zhang on new materials for solar cells was reported in a news story and mentioned in an editorial in Advanced Materials & Processes. . . . Planetary scientist Francis Nimmo was quoted in a story about Jupiter's icy moon Europa in Science News magazine. . . . Ms. magazine's feminist wire daily news briefs featured psychologist Campbell Leaper's latest study that found 90 percent of teen girls experience sexual harassment (see UCSC story). Leaper's study was also picked up by CBS News online, ScienceDaily, and others. . . . Economist Ricard Gil's investigation of why movie popcorn costs so much continues to get media coverage, including USA Today, New York Post, Kansas City Star, ABC News, CNN, CNN Radio, KCRW Radio's The Business program, and Ad Age. . . . The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story announcing that it has awarded its fifth annual David W. Miller Award for Student Journalists to Sam Laird, 2007 UCSC graduate in American studies (see UCSC story). . . . Astrophysicists Stan Woosley and Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz were quoted in stories about new supernova observations in Science News magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Physics World, and the Associated Press. . . . An AP story about artificial intelligence in computer games included quotes from computer scientist Michael Mateas.
State and regional
Biologists Glenn Stewart and Brian Latta of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group were featured in coverage of the group's efforts to rescue peregrine falcon chicks from the San Francisco Bay Bridge, including stories in the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Associated Press, KPIX TV, and KGO TV. . . . A Sacramento Bee article about the effects of hatcheries on salmon populations included quotes from biologist Rachel Barnett-Johnson (see UCSC story). . . . Filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña of community studies was interviewed about her new film Calavera Highway by KPIX Television and KALW Radio in San Francisco (see UCSC story). . . . Engineering dean Michael Isaacson was quoted in a San Jose Mercury News story about industry funding for university research. . . . News of ecologist Chris Wilmers's new puma study made the front page of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, and was covered by television stations KTVU and KPIX; radio stations KCBS, KSCO, KUSP, KAZU, and KZSC; and mongabay.com, a wildlands conservation group, (see UCSC story). Wilmers also fielded calls from the San Francisco Chronicle and Aptos Times. . . . Susanne Jonas of Latin American and Latino studies was featured in an Oakland Tribune article about the growing number of Guatemalan immigrants in the East Bay and their challenges with language, culture, and employment. The story also ran in the Contra Costa Times. . . . Biologist Janet Linthicum at the UCSC Predatory Bird Research Group was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle story about high levels of flame retardants found in falcon eggs. . . . The San Jose Mercury News and Santa Cruz Sentinel reported on UCSC's ranking by the EPA as the sixth-largest higher-education purchaser of "green" power (see UCSC story). . . . Feminist studies professor Bettina Aptheker was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle's obituary for Michael Rossman, a key planner of UC Berkeley's historic Free Speech Movement in 1964.
Local
Hydrogeologist Andrew Fisher was quoted in a story in Metro Santa Cruz about the water management problems in the Pajaro Valley. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a story about the election of astronomer Claire Max to the National Academy of Sciences and seismologist Thorne Lay to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (see UCSC story). . . . Jennifer Gonzalez, associate professor in the History of Art and Visual Culture Department, was quoted in a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about famed photographer Annie Leibovitz's exhibit in San Francisco. . . . The Mid-County Post covered astronomer Gregory Laughlin's research with graduate student Javiera Guedes on the likelihood of an Earth-like planet in Alpha Centauri. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel announced two UCSC media awards--noting associate professor of film and digital media Sharon Daniel received a $35,000 fellowship from the Tribeca Film Institute for Artistic Excellence (see UCSC story), and 2007 American studies graduate Sam Laird received $2,500 as winner of the fifth annual Student Journalist Award from the Chronicle of Higher Education (see UCSC story). . . . The Mid-County Post ran a story about research by biologists Terrie Williams and Mary Zavanelli on how diving marine mammals protect their brains from oxygen deprivation. . . . The Santa Cruz Good Times ran a story on UCSC's Film and Digital Media Department, quoting senior Deva Blaisdell-Anderson. KSBW TV interviewed seismologist Emily Brodsky about the devastating earthquake in China. . . . The Santa Cruz Good Times published a cover story on "Intervene! Interrupt! Rethinking Art as Social Practice," a three-day arts conference/festival hosted by UCSC, featuring an interview with Art Department chair Elizabeth Stephens. Metro Santa Cruz also covered the conference (see UCSC story). . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel reviewed the Theater Arts Department's production of Terrence McNally's play, Corpus Christi, noting that UCSC presented "a dazzling take on a controversial play."